An Iraqi crime boss known as the “Godfather of traffickers” is reportedly in Britain, where he is believed to be seeking asylum while allegedly working illegally.
Twana Jamal was sentenced to five years in prison in France in 2016 after investigators found he had been making as much as £100,000 a week from smuggling migrants across the Channel to the UK.
French authorities described Jamal, who was 36 at the time, as one of the most prolific people traffickers they had captured. He was said to have charged migrants £4,500 each for passage to Britain.
After completing his sentence, Jamal was expected to be deported to Iraqi Kurdistan. Instead, he has reportedly been found living in Blaby, a village in Leicestershire.
Reporters claim they saw him working in a shop, driving without a licence and apparently operating under a false name.
During a phone call set up by a source under false pretences, Jamal said he was now based in Leicester and appeared to boast about his influence, saying: “We know everyone in this city, this city is ours.”
He also claimed he was “making good money” and suggested he had little fear of being caught, allegedly saying that “no one touches us here” and that “even the police won’t stop you”.
Twana Jamal, pictured in court, was jailed for five years in France in 2016 after being caught earning up to £100,000 a week by smuggling migrants across the Channel into the UK.
During the trial, prosecutors said Jamal had been operating out of the Grand Synthe camp near Dunkirk since around 2012
When Jamal was confronted by the BBC on the street, he denied he had ever been involved in people smuggling.
He claimed he had been in the UK since 2009 and said he had applied for asylum but was ‘still waiting’.
When shown a picture of him in a French courtroom in 2016, he replied ‘I don’t care’ after being asked if it was proof that he had been arrested.
Jamal’s presence in the UK raises questions about how people convicted of serious crimes are able to apply for asylum.
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The law states that anyone who has spent a year or more in jail overseas should face a mandatory refusal.
During the trial, prosecutors said Jamal had been operating out of the Grand Synthe camp near Dunkirk since around 2012.
He was reported to be the ‘go-to’ guy for getting to the UK from other camps along the French coast, ferrying lorry loads of migrants at a rate of 80 a month.
Jamal initially evaded detection by using trucks with cargoes of onions and cheese to transport migrants from French ports to Britain.
The cargo foiled carbon dioxide detectors used to identify the breath of people hiding inside because it emits the same gas.
The court heard that Jamal’s nickname in the camps had been ‘Pasha’ – a Turkish word meaning someone of high rank.
He claimed that his case had been one of mistaken identity.
The tracing of Jamal to a village in Leicestershire comes as part of another BBC investigation which led to the arrest of leading people smuggler, Kardo Jaf.
Jaf is thought to have led a vast international smuggling operation with routes stretching from Afghanistan to the UK.
He had been operating under the alias ‘Kardo Ranya’ – frustrating police efforts to issue an international arrest warrant, as this would require his real name.
Jaf took the moniker from the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan, where, like Jamal, he is believed to be from.
Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomously governed region ‘riddled with active smuggling networks’, according to a 2024 report by think-tank Chatham House.
Investigative journalists confirmed Jaf’s true identity by penetrating his inner network. In a secret recording, they then captured him offering a guarantee to reach the UK.
Jaf denied being a smuggler and claimed he had only ever advised people on how to leave Iraq. He said that he did not believe he had committed any offence.
‘In France we’ve got trucks or planes or boats, we’ve got so many ways to get to the UK – whatever way you prefer we’ll get you to the UK,’ he was heard saying.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: ‘All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks.’
